Thursday, December 19, 2013

The Basic Facts On Behavioral Segmentation In Marketing

By Harriett Crosby


Behavioral segmentation is a key advertisement strategy that involves the categorization of large markets into smaller units. The smaller units are easier to manage and satisfy. The creation of the segments depends on the various behaviors of customers as relates to the use of various goods and services. The patterns of responses of customers as related to changes in the market are studied and this is used in marking important decisions related to production. The popularity of this strategy has grown over the years due to its numerous advantages.

The use of market segmentation as a general marketing tool represents a major shift in doing business. The traditional way of reaching out to consumer was mainly through mass marketing. This method was very ineffective. In the mass marketing approach the entire pool of consumers was regarded as a single homogenous pool of customers. The message is sent out to the whole pool in the hope that a large number of potential customers will be reached.

Occasional buying is a common behavior that is exhibited by different groups of customers. Some goods or services appear to be increasingly demanded during specific occasions and at no other times of the year. For instance, religious gifts are usually on high demanded during religious seasons and occasions such as Christmas and Easter. The business needs to identify these users and to satisfy them appropriately.

It is not uncommon for different customers to demand for different benefits from the same products. In the event that a business is dealing with products that have multiple benefits, there is need to know the various groups interested in each of the benefits. By so doing, it will be possible to modify the products so that each of these benefits are maximized and all the customers are happy.

Product or brand loyalty helps to keep a business going. It is a fairly common behavior among customers. To establish the presence of loyalty, a business needs to conduct research. It will be possible, after such research, to classify consumers into those who are loyal and those who are not. Efforts should be made to retain the loyal customers and to bring the not so loyal closer.

Another attribute used in segmenting the market is usage rate of various products. Since customers have varying usage rates, they can be categorized into various groups comprising the light, moderate and heavy users. Each of these groups has a specific need or needs that should be identified. For example, heavy users need frequent supply of products to the outlets close to them.

By identifying usage rate segments, it will be possible to make important business decisions. The group with lesser usage rates, for example, can be targeted for more aggressive advertisement campaigns aimed at improving demand for the products or services. Similarly, the moderate and heavy users can be rewarded so as to encourage them to continue using the products frequently.

Other than behavioral segmentation, there are many other ways in which a market can be segmented. Geographic, demographic and psychogenic characteristics can also be used. All the segments that have been created must be economically significant to warrant changes in product design otherwise such a move would result in unnecessary losses.




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